In recent years, the industry has often counted on rising ticket prices to offset declining admissions.

But according to year-end estimates by box-office data firm Exhibitior Relations Co., domestic gross revenue for 2003 likely will decline, if only by less than 1 percent, to about $9.28 billion.

Because ticket prices rose about 4 percent in 2003, that means that domestic movie attendance actually fell about 4.23 percent, the fourth drop in the past decade.

The main reason for the fall was a glut of expensive films, many of them sequels, that failed to deliver the grand-slam returns Hollywood expected.

Even the occasional box office success, like "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King" has not reversed Hollywood's misfortunes.

Many of the big disappointments were $100 million-plus productions that failed to become profitable.